Alitalia

1.0 out of
5, based on 3 ratings and15 reviews & complaints.

Most Popular | Newest |
More Options >

[X]

More filter options:

Complaints

Don't Fly Alitalia

Posted by rsabelli on 06/26/2010

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- My luggage was lost by Alitalia in Dec and they still owe me $1465.00.
After landing in Milan in December 2009, after waiting hours for luggage that never arrived, after I realized that my luggage was lost, after waiting hours at the lost luggage desk, I was told to repurchase everything I would need for my week long vacation because Alitalia informed me that they could not get my luggage to me until one week later (the day before I was departing to return home.)

I was very accommodating but they refused to have my luggage delivered to any of the cities that we were going to be in during the week (multitude of excuses: holidays, wouldn’t pay for courier, etc…) and so we had to return to the first city at the end of our trip to retrieve it.

Because we were changing cities everyday on this “vacation,”and the luggage they lost was my ONLY piece of luggage, I not only had to buy all of my clothing, shoes, boots (it was snowing), makeup, toiletries, but I also had to buy luggage!

Alitalia assured me that I would be reimbursed as long as I kept all of my (itemized) receipts and submitted a claim when I returned to the states. (Which, of course, I did.) But after almost 4 months I didn’t hear from them, and when I followed up, they lied and told me that my luggage was returned to me the following day, and then they denied my claim. Naturally, I had proof that they were lying, (I received my luggage one week later, not one day later], and so then they made up a new fake nonexistent reimbursement policy, (there is no such policy, I have all the paperwork from Italy, and there is no such policy on their website), and so then they offered me $225*, instead of the $1465* they owe me. (However, I have not received a penny).

*Just purchasing toothpaste, a toothbrush, comb, hand cream, makeup, deodorant, sneakers and a tote bag, which I bought and used as LUGGAGE because it was cheaper, cost me $270.00! They offered me $225 as a “settlement” (which I never received), but WHAT ABOUT THE COST OF MY CLOTHES, BOOTS, UNDERWEAR?? WHAT ABOUT THE COST OF MY CABS, BUSES (to find these stores), AND PHONE CALLS (to track down my lost luggage)??

Should I be expected to pay for replacing my clothes—I packed them---THEY LOST THEM.
They broke their contract:
http://www.alitalia.com/IL_EN/Images/CGT_en_0605_final_tcm50-10352.pdf
see page 2 of THEIR document:
“…..provide the passenger with the agreed carriage according to the defined itinerary and
schedule, carrying the passenger and his/her baggage from the place of departure to the
place of destination…”

A simple search online will show you that Alitalia does not ever pay for lost luggage.
I have written to, emailed and called Alitalia 23 times. I have contacted Eyewitness News/7 On Your Side, The New York State Consumer Board, The Better Business Bureau, and Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General…..and various travel troubleshooters online……..I am still waiting for my check for $1465.00.
The other very frightening thing is that their prices are very CHEAP, and so students planning to study abroad find this very appealing….
STUDENTS BEWARE!—DO YOUR HOMEWORK---RESEARCH THIS AIRLINE BEFORE YOU BUY A TICKET! UNLESS YOU ARE PLANNING TO CARRY ON YOUR LUGGAGE CASES, DO NOT FLY ALITALIA!

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

Alitalia - lost luggage! Think twice before flying this airline

Posted by Mr Frown on 08/07/2010

We have recently flown on Alitalia from London to Rome with a 45mins connecting flight to Chicago.

The flight was delayed in Rome by nearly 1 hour. Yet when we arrived in Chicago, to our horror our luggages never arrive. So we thought, well, it must be just shoddy service, and Alitalia does have that

kind of reputation after all. The person who handled the complaint gave us a reference number, and a sour face. There were at least 20 other people, some with children, in the same lousy boat.

Everyone is given a piece of photocopied paper with a phone number to ring for luggage lost, and a New York customer relation number.

So we rang. And rang. And rang. But there was never anyone to receive the call. All we hear was a recorded message. It said 'we are open closed on Tuesdays, etc etc' yet we called on Saturday, Sunday,

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We couldn't get through to speak to any human being with the numbers we have. Finally when someone rang back, it was already day 5. The lady reassured us that our luggage was

on its way, within 24hrs. We were forced to alter our holiday plans for this, but we never receive our bag. We tried to ring the numbers, but nothing. Stress. The website baggage tracking was not working.

Judging by people's experiences, we were wondering if we would even get compensation for our lost luggage.

So in summary,

1. Customer service is extremely poor. You can't get anyone to answer their numbers. If you want to ring them for anything, you've been warned.

2. Alitalia seriously need to rethink how it is handling lost luggages - from customer relations, baggage tracking, to simply just answering their phone.

3. Alitalia baggage tracking on the website (end of July 2010 to date) need to be fixed.

4. Lost luggages seem to be common with Alitalia (just google around). Really check with them if they said your 'lost luggage' is on its way.

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

Rude, Arrogant, Unhelpful Alitalia Staff

Posted by Don on 09/09/2013

Rating: 1/51

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- We confused the date of departure from NYC with the date of arrival in
Rome on our round the world ticket. As soon as we realized our mistake we went straight to the JFK airport 6 hours before the flight the next day. We were confronted with very unhelpful Alitalia staff who told us the rest of our flights on our itinerary were cancelled. All they could offer us were were seats on the flight to Rome for $2500 each but the rest of our flights were still cancelled which would leave us stranded in Rome.

We were prepared to pay a penalty(up to $1000 each) for our mistake but not to be ripped off. It would have better for them to fill their seats with passengers prepared to to pay and spend tourist dollars in Rome than fly with empty seats. They would have to be the rudest, arrogant and unhelpful airline staff we have ever met.

We were fortunate enough to have cash on hand to buy new flights with another airline to Budapest and back home to Sydney. Many travelers may not be in this position and would be stranded have a world away from home. $4500 later and with a very bad opinion of Alitalia, back home safe and sound. Avoid this airline. Never again will we fly with Alitalia.

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

An out of touch airline-stay away

Posted by GARY on 08/31/2012

Rating: 1/51

ROME -- When checking in for our return flight from Rome to NY, Alitalia's online checkin service showed a seating chart and offered extra legroom upgrades for the bulkhead seats with no one in front. We paid a $150 upgrade fee for the 2 seats.

When we got on the plane, the seating was completely different than the seating chart on the online checkin, and the upgrades seats were not the bulkhead seats, did not have extra legroom. The extra legroom seats were one row in front of us, and never showed up on the online checkin screen. Simply put, Alitalia misrepresented what they were offering. The flight staff on the plane acknowledged the mistake but said there was nothing they could do, and provided a complaint form to be emailed to Alitalia.

Its now almost 2 months-- we emailed the complaint form, sent numerous follow up emails, but no response from the airline, no refund for the upgrade that wasn't provided, even though they took the money. Last time we fly with Alitalia - they just don't care about their customers and don't even try to make good on their screw ups.

NY- TO ROME, NEW YORK -- I booked our airline travel 6 mos. ahead to get the best price & seat availability. We were travelling to Italy to take a cruise. The cruise company called us 3 mos. before scheduled cruise to advise they chartered our reserved ship and we needed to re-schedule. Alitalia charged us $1800, to re- book scheduled flights. Then one month before our trip Alitalia called to say they were no longer offering flights from Newark on our Departure date. We had to change flights again. To leave & return to JFK. We were in no way compensated for this inconvenience of driving to a further airport. When we arrived at the airport on day of departure --they had overbooked our trans-Atlantic flight. When I insisted that we had to go-- they put us on the flight- but not seated together-- a few other passengers agreed to move so that my husband and I could sit with our daughter who is a toddler.

My son was on his own across the aisle sitting between two women who did not speak the same language.We were then bumped on the connecting flight from Milan to Rome. We were awake all night on the flight and then had to spend 5 hours in the Milan airport with exhausted children, attempting to sleep on chairs-- they did not offer us access to the Alitalia lounge. When we arrived in Rome-- we were also missing 2 pieces of luggage.My daughter's baby carrier and also her suitcase.We arrived late at our hotel because of the flight problems-- which had also overbooked-- and found we had no room there either!! We were transferred to another hotel in a questionable neighborhood with lots of graffiti on the outskirts of Rome-- then had to transfer back the next day-- we lost a day and a half of vacation time, school time & work time.We started our vacation very unpleasantly and exhausted!!

We were not compensated at all- and when we tried to discuss these problems we were yelled at and treated very rudely by Alitalia staff. I was so exhausted-- I ended up in tears. We had saved for this vacation for a year-- and I was extremely disappointed. After two days in Rome our lost baggage finally arrived at our hotel. On the way home, they seated us in the mid-section of the plane. Near the toilets. The stench was so bad it made us sick. Airline attendants did not deal with the problem and would not allow us to change seats.I used my blanket to cover my nose and mouth because the odor was so bad. Made me sick to my stomach. Overall this was a terrible experience. We were very disappointed with Alitalia.

I understand-- that with travel things happen-- but so many bad things happened at one time--- and the staff refused to do anything to improve the situation. I believe we deserve a refund.

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

ALITALIA- A REAL DISASTER

Posted by 12B on 07/12/2005

TORONTO, IDAHO -- This airline is heading for surefire closure unless they completely revamp their ill staff:
--------------------------------------------------
I had a documented confirmed reservation from Toronto-Milan-Bombay with special meal request for 3 of us.
But to my astonishment at the time of Check-in the counter clerk told me,( even without looking at the ticket or confirmation on computer) that my ticket is valid only if I pay 255 CAN$ and asked me to go to ticketing counter with my 2 kids and baggage. All the counters were supervised by very bored predominantly frustrated staff looking forward to their retirements.
I wanted to know the reason for asking excess charges sought for confirmation. Rude and arrogant staff of Alitalia gave no response to my simple question & said if I want to fly then I pay or she will leave the counter and go. I paid 255$ since I had no option and that lady was not interested to talk.
After paying I went to check-in where I was told that my special meal is not confirmed though I had a computer print out from travel agent. I asked counter clerk to call their manager to clarify. An old aged man who was rudest of all, supposedly manager,said he cannot do anything since his system do not speak any thing and also he cannot make any alernative arrangement for vegetarian. His claim was that any documented evidence from travel agent is not genuine and hence invalid.
Any way I had to starve onboard without food up to Milan and kids remained on biscuits I carried.If Alitalia crew/staff was little professional, then could have made arrangement when we checked in 2 hours before. When asked for complaint form it was refused and crew forcibly kept plates with meat which was out of question to be accepted being vegetarian.
However onward journey from Milan to Bombay was little better with okay crew and proper food and service.
I heard couple of times before travelling about Alitalia which is on verge of winding up and bankruptcy.

I have decided never to fly this Airline again.

Staff/crew are mostly ill-trained with attitude problem with zero customer service. Arrogancy, harsh and unfriendly attitude seems to be way of their culture.They have no respect for the customers, young or elder.

Top of all Toronto Alitalia's old aged manager(?) looking for sweet retirement who is frustrated and only means an extra cut of money on the name of confirmation of reservation to save the Airline with bankruptcy and debts heading for tough competition with Aeroflot and Air India.

Keep Alitalia far from your travel ideas.Service onboard is not poor - it's almost non existent. Flight attendants are pathetic and unconcerned about their work. Service is not a word for Alitalia.If you ask for something you can hear them making fun of you with the rest of the crew. They strike once a month for extra incentives so that you are in trouble and cannot fly. They gather in the back of the plane to chat instead of doing their work. I don't know if this is an Italian thing but generally the crew had no manners and spoke to you as though you were a burden on them.

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

Do Not Fly Alitalia

Posted by Rosa on 08/08/2014

Rating: 1/51

NYC, NEW YORK -- Besides the airline staff acting like they didn't know what was going on and having difficulty getting the proper info out,
there is a strike going on in Rome and we are still waiting for our luggage 3 days latter. Thank god it was on our way home. We will never fly this airline again. Ciao forever

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

The most horrific travel experience ever

Posted by Alitalia is the world's worst airline on 11/25/2009

I booked a ticket on line. When the ticket printed it was not the info I selected. I called within 2 minutes and the US office said "too bad so sad", what you were trying to book was the Italian site and system defaulted me to US changing my entire itenarary and there was nothing they could do b/c they in the US did not have availbale my Italian itenarary. So I then had to pay a penalty to change my flight with Italy. It took me 3 days to try to book the Italian flight b/c each day they would take my info and never sent me a confirmation. I finally had to go personally to the airport to ensure I was booked on the flihgt I wanted. It was riduculous.

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

Alitalia: luggage delivered two hours after landing if at all

Posted by philgood on 11/21/2009

Booking Alitalia to Rome was a mistake as even our Italian friends now tell us. It is Western Europe's version of Aeroflot. We had only allowed six and a half hours until our cruise left. The plane was three late in landing. The first bag off the belt appeared 45 minutes later. After an hour and forty five minutes, we received two of our three bags. During the delay, we had tried several times to file a missing luggage report with Alitalia; they had always refused--”just wait five more minutes.” Now, we had no alternative but to head for the cruise terminal (the shuttle cost E125, so much for our plan to take the train) without filing a report.

No, Alitalia has yet to return or reimburse us for our luggage; we've tried contacting the phone numbers and email addresses on their website, but all are out of service. P.S. Our departure flight, Alitalia to Paris left an hour late.

Was this review helpful?YesNo

Replies

Alitalia: the worse customer service ever to be found

Posted by Marco on 11/16/2009

My parents were supposed to come visit me from Rome to New York, today 11/16/2009. Instead they spent all day at the airport in Rome, without even the possibility to check into their flight. There was a strike of the personnel and Alitalia did not give them any update for at least 8 hours. I, on my own end, called the NY customer service, but they never picked up. When I called the booking service, 5 times, after explaining the situation and requesting a reallocation of my parents on a new flight, the customer service person, always hung up on me. They were rude, absolutely insensitive to the fact that my parents are elderly and had been waiting the entire day at the airport. We still do not know whether they will ever make it to NY, or get the ticket reimbursed.
Alitalia is the worst airline there is. Shame on them. Avoid them at all cost.